SUGARCREEK, Ohio — Genesee & Wyoming’s Ohio Central Railroad has donated a diesel locomotive, GE B23-7R No. 4092, to the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum, the museum has announced.
Museum funder Jerry Joe Jacobson had a particular fondness for this locomotive model, having made efforts to reunite the entire class of 11 locomotives, which played a key part on his railroad, the Ohio Central System. A ceremony to commemorate the donation included representatives from the Ohio Central, and from the Monongahela River, Railroad and Transportation Museum, which had sought to preserve some of the locomotives because they were the last built for the Monongahela Railway.
“The Age of Steam is grateful to the Ohio Central for the donation of this significant locomotive to our collection,” said Age of Steam Executive Director Pete Poremba. “In preserving this locomotive, we preserve the memories, history, and experiences of countless railroaders, the railroads where this locomotive served, the fans of those railroads, and the uniqueness of this class of locomotive. Most importantly, our founder, Jerry Jacobson would be proud to have it in his collection.”
Tom Sposato, chief mechanical officer at the Age of Steam Roundhouse, worked with Ohio Central to secure the donation.
“Preservation of this locomotive is significant in several ways,” said Dan Pavik, vice president of G&W’s Great Lakes Division, “because it represents a number of entities and ties them together over different eras.”
The locomotive, originally a U23B built for Western Pacific in 1972, was rebuilt into the current model in 1990, after which it went to the Monongahela. It also worked for Conrail and CSX. The unit was among the 70 locomotives G&W was required to scrap or upgrade as part of a consent decree over Clean Air Act violations [see “Genesee & Wyoming agrees to settlement …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 25, 2023, and “G&W locomotives to scrap or upgrade …,” News Wire, Jan 27, 2023].
More information on the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum is available at its website.
